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Saturday, May 18, 2013

PRAYING WITH A ROMAN CATHOLIC ROSARY

Continuing with the use of prayer beads, today we'll look at praying
with the more familiar Roman Catholic rosary. The rosary we generally think of from the Roman
tradition is a Dominican rosary, made up of five decades of ten beads
each. There are a total of 59 beads on this type of rosary: 53 Ave ("Hail") beads, and 6
Pater ("Father") beads, and specific prayers are said on each.

The Ave and Pater beads are generally different from each other, often with the Pater beads being larger or different in color and/ or texture.

There are a LOT of internet sites that have instructions on how to pray
this rosary and I cannot do full justice to this beautiful practice here.Please look around for much more detailed
information on praying the mysteries while you recite the prayers. Here area few links:

I'm taking the information I am presenting here from the Catholic City and
the USCCB sites. Similarly to what was discussed in the Praying With an
Anglican Rosary article, hold the rosary so that you can manipulate the beads
with a thumb and finger. Sit comfortably, and if you know all of the prayers,
close your eyes as you pray. It can
really be quite an experience to pray the rosary aloud with a group.

Here are some examples of Roman Catholic rosaries I have made:

And here is a diagram you can use for reference while looking at the prayer method (taken from the USCCB site linked to above) :

While praying this rosary, meditate on the Holy Mysteries. One
recommended approach is:

I believe in God, the Father Almighty, Creator of Heaven and earth; and
in Jesus Christ, His only Son, Our Lord, Who was conceived by the Holy Ghost,
born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified; died,
and was buried. He descended into Hell; the third day He arose again from the
dead; He ascended into Heaven, sitteth at the right hand of God, the Father
Almighty; from thence He shall come to judge the living and the dead. I believe
in the Holy Spirit, the holy Catholic Church, the communion of saints, the
forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting.
Amen.

The
First Pater ("Father") Bead: The Lord's Prayer or Our Father:

Our Father, Who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name; Thy kingdom come;
Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread;
and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us; and
lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen.

The
Next Three Ave ("Hail") Beads: Hail Mary:

Hail Mary, full of grace. The Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou
amongst women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother
of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death, Amen.

The
Second Pater Bead: Glory Be:

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it
was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Moving onto
the main circle of the rosary beads, repeat the Hail Mary prayer on each of the
Ave or smaller beads, and the Glory Be on each of the larger Pater beads.

Concluding
Prayer: Hail Holy Queen:

When you
work your way all the way around the loop, conclude the rosary conclude with:

Hail,
holy Queen, mother of mercy, our life, our sweetness, and our hope. To you we
cry, poor banished children of Eve; to you we send up our sighs, mourning and
weeping in this valley of tears. Turn, then, most gracious advocate, your eyes
of mercy toward us; and after this, our exile, show unto us the blessed fruit
of your womb, Jesus. O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary.

Differences Between Anglican and
the Dominican Rosary:

The most obvious difference between these two rosaries is how they
look. Dominican rosaries have almost twice as many beads as Anglican rosaries.

The groups of 10 beads on a Dominican rosary are called "decades" and the group of 7 beads on an Anglican rosary are called "weeks."

Generally speaking, Catholic rosaries are made using crucifixes and
Anglican rosaries use plain crosses or crucifixes.

Dominican rosaries are prayed using the prayers listed here. Anglican
rosaries do not have prescribed prayers.

Dominican rosaries are hundreds of years old, where Anglican rosaries
are a modern adaptation.

Either may also include religious medals, small vials of holy water,
pilgrim badges and other items that have meaning to the user.

Either may be strung to form a loop of beads and a "drop" of
2-5 beads with a crucifix or cross, or they may be strung as a straight
strand of beads with a cross or crucifix at one end, and a religious medal or
other token at the other end.

Both can lead to deep, highly meaningful prayer experiences.

You don't have to be Catholic to pray the Dominican rosary, and you don't have to be Anglican to use an Anglican rosary.

Have you been experimenting with counted prayers? What has it been like
for you? Feel free to share your experiences, ask questions or make any
comments you may have here.

Next week, we'll move on to talk about using knitting and crochet as a prayer method.

About Me

I'm a "weeble." Remember those? "Weebles wobble, but they don't fall down!" Yeah, like that. Life's been tough, but I'm a stubborn critter and don't stay down for long. Like anyone else, there are a lot of sides to me- sister, friend, student, teacher, huge fan of Harry Potter, Star Wars and Star Trek, overweight, over-worked, a real Tai Chi geek, and completely devoted to God. Oh, and I adore chocolate, cats, and making couch forts in the living room.